Mark McWho

When Paddy Wallace suffered the misfortune of breaking his ankle in the game against Swansea, the supposition was that his place in the Ireland squad would go to the likes of Jereremy Staunton or

When Paddy Wallace suffered the misfortune of breaking his ankle playing for Ulster in the game against Swansea, the supposition was that his place in the Ireland squad would go to the likes of Munster's Jeremy Staunton or Leinster Gordon D'Arcy with D'Arcy's Leinster teammate Brian O/Meara also thought to be in the frame.So there was some surprise when the Irish management named Mark McHugh as cover for the trip to Siberia.The news of his elevation came a little over 24 hours after he had destroyed Leinster's three year unbeaten home record with an injury time drop-goal in Donnybrook, a feat he had also carried out against Borders in Selkirk in the opening game of this year's Celtic League.

But least anyone think that the twenty four old came from nowhere to national prominence it should be recalled that he has been capped at several internationals levels in the past.

He plays his club rugby with St Mary's College and was out-half on the side that wrested the title from Munster club clutches for the first time, when they beat Lansdowne in May 2000. That year, McHugh was the leading points scorer (145pts) and scored a record 24 points in the game against Shannon.

He first won representative honours for Leinster at Youth (U18) level in 1996 and - as a member of Drogheda RFC - was a replacement on the International Youth side that season. The following year he captained the Irish Youth side in their wins against Wales (Anglesea Road) and Scotland (Stirling RFC) - with current international Shane Horgan alongside him.

In April 1999 he partnered Peter Stringer for the Ireland Under 21s in their victory over Italy at Ravenhill and later that year was on the U21 trip to Argentina.Since then he has also won international caps at Student level.

A member of Leinster's Heineken Cup squad for the 1998/99 season, he has since transferred his allegience to the western province, a change that impacted directly on his old province, Leinster, on Friday night last (13th Sept).Whatever happens in Siberia on Saturday we'll be hearing a lot about Mark McHugh during the coming season.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.